Group Project

E commerce strategies help company building their brand

i i i i i i i

Submitteditoi

Ma’amiAminaiHameed

Submittedibyi

EnamiulihaqiFrotaniiiiiiiiiiiii(FA17-BBA-404)

AliiMohsiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(FA17-BBAi–106)

Mehr-u-nisaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(FA17-BBA-026)

FatimaiBasharatiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(FA17-BBA-061)

Submissionidatei

11-08-2020

Executive summary
i
E-
commerceibusinessesiareibecomingiaireliableimethoditoipurchaseiitemsionline.iMarkingiassumesiai
directiroleiiniimprovingichancesiofie-
commerceibusinessisuccess.iAniincreasinginumberiofiworldwideicustomersiareichangingitoie-
commerceisitesitoipurchaseieverythingifromigroceriesitoiapparel,iandielectronicsitoilifestyleiitems.i
Theie-
commerceiindustryihasicompletelyitransformeditheimanneribyiwhichiconsumersiarounditheiglobei
accessiitemsiandiservices.iItihasisuddenlyicarriediaiuniverseiofichoicesitoitheifingertipsiofiendiusers.i
Theifutureiseemsibrilliantiforitheie-
commerceiindustry,iwithisignificantiplayersispreadingioutiintoineweriitemicategoriesifrequentlyi(al
ongitheseilinesisettingitheibenchmarksiforismalleribrands).iForie-
commerceibusinesses,ithingsiareigoingiwellienough,iyetitheicompetitioniisilikewiseifierce.iNewie-
commerceibrandsiareipropellingieveryidayiandipersistentlyiattemptingitoigetianiaidependableibala
nceionline.iWheniiticomesitoimarking,ie-commerceicompaniesiareileavinginoistoneiunturned.i
 Abstract

Thisiexaminationiexploresitheie-
commerceibuildingiandicorrespondenceistrategiesioficompanies,iincorporatingiaifewiwithisignifica
ntiinternationalibrandiprofiles.iIticontributesibyigivingirareiempiricalbitsiofiknowledgeiintoitheie-
markingiphenomenon,iwhichicomplementitheiextant,iforitheimostipartianecdotal,ibestipracticeilite
rature.ie-commerceibuildingistrategies,iincludingico-
markingiandiaffiliatingiwithiestablishedionlineiandiofflineibrands,iconveyanceipartnerships,iconten
tialliancesiandipersonalizedie-
mailicontacts.iTheiexaminediinterneticompaniesiadditionallyiseemitoihaveiemployediaivarietyioficu
stomary,iofflineimethodsiandileading-edgeionlineiapparatusesiiniimpartingitheirikeyie-
brandivaluesiandiadvancingitheirionlineistagesiandiofferings.iTheseicorrespondenceivehiclesiinclud
edinewspapers,iradio,imagazines,itelevision,iadvertising,itradeieventsiandiadvancements,ipersona
lizedie-mailinotifications,iaffiliateiprogramsiwithiotheriwebsitesiandibanneriadvertisements.
 Introduction

 Background

Ecommerceiisianiidealiwayiyouicanitakeiyouriimageifromiaicustomaryiphysicalistoreitoianiinnova
tive,iwellilovedibrand.iByiofferingigreatiitemsi24ihoursieveryidayialongsideionlineicustomeriserv
ice,iwebsitesiandiwebibasedilife,ineveriagainiisiyouribusinessioneiparticularistore,iwithianionlinei
presenceiyouribusinessicanibeitheihomeiofiyouriitemsianditheigeneralihomeiofiyouribusiness,ipe
rmittingiyouitoicompletelyiexpandiyouriitemirangesiwithoutistressingioverimovingiareasioriago
nizingioverinotibeingiableitoiexpandiyouribusiness.

Dueitoitheiinternet'siaccessibility,iaihugeinumberiofipeopleioveritheiworldicaniviewiyouriwebsit
eiwhenever,imeaningithatiforithoseihopingitoiexpanditheiribusinessesiandireachioutitoiailargeria
udience,iyouihaveiailotimoreiopportunitiesitoidoiasisuch.iCompareitheimeasureiofipeopleiyouica
nireachithroughiaiwebsiteitoitheisumiyouicanireachithroughiaihighistreetistoreiorinearbyiadverti
sing,ithere'sinoireasoniyouishouldn'titakeiaiganderiatitakingiyouribusinessionlineiinicaseiyou'reih
opingitoiimproveiyourireach.

TheiEcommerceiproposesibusinessesitoiiaiwholeirangeiofiopportunities,ifromimarketingiopport
unitiesitoiincreasingiyouristuffsirangesitoigeneratingimoreisalesiandiwithianioptimizediandiwelli
developediwebsiteiyouicaniachieveitheseiobjectivesiasiwelliasiofferiyouricustomersiainonstop,ic
onvenientiservice,ithaticanisupportiyouribusiness.

TheiOnlineimediaiplatformsiincludingiSocialimediaiprovideiyouiwithifreeiaccessitoiaihugeiaudienceia
ndiaiwayitoishowcaseiyouriecommerceibranding.iWheniiticomesitoiestablishingiyouribrandionisocial
imedia,ifocusioniconsistencyibetweeniplatforms, iI.E.iusingitheisameilogo,ilanguageiandicolors.iThisii

siwhereiyouribrandiguideicomesiinihandy.iHowever,iyouineeditoidecideiwhereiyou’llispendiyouritim
eiandienergy—
thereiareimanyisocialimediaiwebsites,iandiknowingiwhichiareibestiforiyouribusinessicanibeichalleng
ing.

Researchiquestionsi

Whatiareitheieicommerceistrategiesithatihelpitheibusinessesibuildibrandi?

Canitheieicommerceistrategiesihelpitheicompaniesitoibuildiaibrandi?

Ifitheicompaniesiareisuccessfuliorinot.

AimsiandiObjectives

1. It’siMoreiConvenientii
Anionlineistoreiisiavailableithroughoutitheiday,ieveryidayimeaningiyouricustomersicanivisitiyouristo
reiconsistently,iregardlessiofiwhatitheirischeduleimayibe.iTheseidaysipeopleidon'tigenerallyihaveith
eitimeitoitrulyigoioutionitheitownitoishop,iinsteadimoreiandimoreipeopleiareidecidingitoishopionlinei
toidiscoveritheiitemsitheyineediorineediandiifiyouribusinessicaniofferithisiforiyouricustomersithere'si
noiyouishouldn'tiappealitoiaiwiderirangeioficustomersiallisearchingiforiaiconvenientiandiflexibleiexp
erience.

2. GivesiYouiMarketingiOpportunities

Youriwebsiteiisioneiofitheibestimarketingiinstrumentsiyouribusinessihas,inotiexclusivelyicanitheiusei
ofiSEOiwhenifabricatingiyourisiteileaditoimoreichancesiofiyouribusinessigettingifoundiinisearchiengi
nes,ihoweveriaihugeinumberiofimarketingitechniquesicanilikewiseiworkialongsideiyouriwebsite,iinc
ludingipayipericlickiadvertising,iyouriinternetibasedilifeimarketingiandiyouriemailimarketing,ialliofiw
hichicaniincludeiconnectsibackitoiyouriwebsite.

3. Scalable

Asiyouribusinessidevelopsiit'siveryilikelyiyou'llineeditoidevelopiyouriitemirangeiandiyouritargetiaudi
ence,ijustiasidevelopiyouribusinessiforicustomerirequirementsiandiconsumeridemand.iAniecomme
rceisiteilet'siyouiscaleiyouribusinessiasineedsibe,ipermittingiyouitoiincludeimoreilines,iincludeimorei
paymentialternativesiandievenidevelopiwheniyouichooseitoitransportito,iwithoutistressingiovericha
ngingiyouriareaiorimovingitoiailargeripremisesilikeiyouimayiwithiaiphysicalistore.

Literature review
i
Markingihasibeenicharacterizediasitheiprocessioficreatingivalueithroughitheiprovisioniofiaicompelli
ngiandiconsistentiofferiandicustomeriexperienceithatiwillifulfillicustomersiandikeepithemireturning.
iAsicustomersidevelopitrustiinitheibrandithroughifulfillment iofiuseiandiexperience.iCompaniesihavei

theichanceitoibeginibuildingirelationshipsiwithithem,istrengtheningitheibrandifurtheriandimakingiiti
moreidifficultiforicompetitorsitoiimitate.iBrandileadersiforitheimostipartihaveitheifinancialistrengthi
toifendiofficompetitors,iandipotentialicompetitorsiareitypicallyireluctantitoienteritheimarketiifiexisti
ngibrandsifulfillicustomers.iBrands,ithere-
fore,ienableianiorganizationitoiestablishiaiuniqueiidentityianditoiincreaseitheichanceiofipullingiiniaila
rgeimeasureiofirepeatibusiness.iCompaniesiwithiaipastifillediwithisolidibrandsiareilikelyitoikeepiupigr
eateriauthorityioveritheibalanceiofipoweribetweenithemiandicustomers,iandiorderiaihigherimarketi
shareiandipremiumipriceiagainstigeneric,iunbranded,iequivalents.iSolid,isuccessfulibrands,iinithisiw
ay,imoveitheicompetitiveiframeworkiinitheiorganization'sikindness,igivingiitiintangible,idifficultitoir
eplicate,ivaluesiwithiwhichitoiaugmentiitsimoreiessentialiitem,ipriceiandiappropriationibenefits.iTh
eyiadditionallyiprovideianieconomyiofiscaleitoitheiorganizationiandiprovideiitiwithiaispringboard.iDe
spiteitheifactithatimarkingihasiattractediconsiderableiresearchiattention,iitsiroleiandicommitmentit
oibusinessiperformanceihaveiremainedicontentious.iTheilatteripointiadditionallyireflectsitheicircu
mstanceiwithie-
branding.iDespiteitheitremendousientiretiesiofimoneyiinvestediinionlineiadvertisingiandie-
brandiconstructingi(someiinternetinewicompaniesireportedlyispentiseveralitimesitheiriyearlyisalesi
revenueiatitheiheightiofitheidot.comifrenzyitryingitoiestablishiaipredominantipresenceiinitheiintern
et'sicrowdedimarketplace).

Can E-Commerce Strategies Help Companies in Building their Brand E –Commerce?

i i i i i i i i i i

E-
commerceiisiwayiofibusinessithroughiinternetiwhichirelatesitoiinformationisearchingiactivities,iinfo
rmationisharing,ipurchasingiproductsiandiservicesiandialsoicreatingistrategiesiforibuildingibrands.i
OfteniwrongiperceptionimadeiaboutitheiwayiofidoingiE-
commerceibusinessibetweeniwebiretailersiandiendicustomersibutiE-
commerceiencompassesiaifullirangeioficonductingionlineibusiness.iIt’siinteractionibetweeniBusines
sitoicustomer,iBusinessitoiBusiness,i&iBusinessitoigovernment.iAndithisiway,iitsihelpsipromoteibusi
nessibrandingsiiniE-commerce.iTheifollowingiareistrategiesithatiE-
CommerceihelpipromoteiBusinessiBrand:ii

MarketplaceiHosting

Someiofitheie-
businessesimanageditoisucceedibyihostingiaisiteiforiauctionsiincludingionlineistoresioniwhichimem
bericaniplaceiitemsiforisale.iInithisimodel,itheiwebsiteiowneritakesiaiflatifeeioriaipercentageiofisalesii
niexchangeiforipromotingitheionlineimarketplaceiandiassistingiiniprocessingitheitransaction.iManyi
ofitheibusinessesiintegrateithisioptioniwithitheiriowniwarehouse,iofferingibothitheiriownigoodsiandi
advertisingimembers'ilistingsiforitheisameiitems.iAlso,iexcessirevenueiforitheiwebsiteiownericanico
meifromimembersipayingiexcessifeesitoiunderlineitheiriofferingsionitheimainiwebsite.i
Toigetitheibestioutioficustomers,imarketplaceihostingishouldisatisfyionlineicustomersiconvenientia
ndidependableiMarketplaceihostsiareimostisignificantifactor.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Jarve
npaaiandiToddi1996)

WebiInformationiQualityi(IQ),icustomers’iperceptionionitheiqualityiofiinformationipresentedioniaiw
ebsiteiandiWebisystemiquality,itheiMarketplaceihostingiperceptioniofiwebsite’siperformanceionith
eideliveryihaveipositiveieffectionitheicustomer’s.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(Hsuehen,i2006)

Marketplaceihostingishouldiimproveitheirionlineishopping’sidependsioniE-
storeiimage,itimeirequirediforiproductidelivery,iqualityiofiserviceiofferedibyitheivendoritoiconsume
rsianditransactionicost.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Canavanietial.i2007)

IniTiwanivarietyitheiexperienceiofiusersioniE-
sitesiandiconcludedicustomerisatisfactionidirectlyiandipositivelyiimpactionimarketplaceihostiE-
shoppingisites.iAcceptanceiofitechnologicalifactorsiwillidirectlyiandipositivelyiaffectisatisfactioniofic
ustomersitowardsitheihostingiofiE-shoppingisites.i(LiniandiSun,i2009)

Customer Satisfaction i i

Wheniproductsiandiservicesiaccordingitoitheicustomersiexpectationitheniweicallediiticustomerisati
sfaction.iIfiweiprovideiproductiandiserviceithroughionlineishoppingisitesithanicustomerishouldibeilo
yalitowardsishoppingisite,iandiE-
Commerceicompanyigenerateimoreiprofitiwhenicustomeripurchaseiproductirepetitively.iInithisires
earchisatisfactioniisirelateditoitheioutcomeiofitheicustomeripurchaseianditheiperformanceiperceiv
ediiniorderitoimeasureitheiattitudeiofirespondentsitowardsiproduct.

Theibasicimodeliofi“TheiUnidimensionalistiViewiofiAttitude”iPurchasingiintentioniisioutcomeiofiatti
tudeiwhichireflectitoiwillingnessioficustomer'sitoibuyifromiaiparticulariE-
retailer.iActualibehavioriofitheiconsumericonsiderientertainingiforiresearch.iPurchaseiintentioniref
ersitoitheiactualipurchaseibehaviorioficonsumer,ibecauseiitiisiimpossibleitoiexperimentalistudyionia
ctualipurchaseibehaviorioficonsumers.iTheibusinessiofiE-
commerceiTrendiiniThaiibusinessitoiConsumeritransactioniwasialmostiequalitoi1%iestablishediiniTh
ailandi1999-
2003.iHowever,iitheipercentageiofiThailandiusersishoppingionlineihasiincreasedifromi47.8%iini2010i
toi57.2%iini2011iwhichiisiincreaseiofi9.4%ifromi2010.iAlso,itheinumbersiofiactiveicustomersiwhoitra
dedionlineiwerei15,510iini2004,iaroundi340ipercentihigherithanithoseiini2002.

SoicustomerisatisfactionirelateditoiTechnologyifactor,ishoppingifactor,iProductifactoriwhichirelates
itoiPrice,iQuality,ideliveryiandisecurity.

Shoppingiexperienceianditheiproductiqualityiincreaseicustomerisatisfactionitowardsionlineishoppi
ngisites.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(Md.iAminuliIslamiet.ali2011)

Factorsithatiuseriinterfaceiandiinformationiquality,iperceivediqualityiandiperceivediprivacyithatieff
ectsitheidesigniofiwebsiteifactoriincreaseicustomerisatisfactionitowardsionlineishoppingisites.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Mustafai2011)i

Eightifactorsithatidetermineditheicustomer’sisatisfactionitowardsionlineishoppingisitesiareiWebsit
eidesign,iSecurity,iInformationiQuality,iPaymentiMethod,iE-
ServiceiQuality,iProductiQuality,iProductsiVarietyiandiDeliveryiServices.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

iiiiiiiiiiiiii (Guoiet.ial.2012)i

Ad-Supported Content i

Someiwebsitesidevelopiintoieffectiveie-
businessesibyipromotingitheiAdsirelateditoibrandiwithoutidirectlyisellingianythingiatiall.iWithienough
iworthwhileicontentiandifrequentiupdates,iblogsiandisimilar iinformative isitesicanisucceediinipromoti

ngiads.iTheiprofitabilityidependsionitheimotivationianditalentiofitheipeopleiproducingitheiads.iAimixt
ureiofienjoyableicontentsitheireaderiandidrawingiinireferencesitoisuitableiconsumeriproductsicanipote
ntiallyigenerateienoughiadvertisementsiandirevenueisharingitoisupportitheisiteiasiaibusiness.
SurprisinglyiAsicompareitoiothersisecurityiatilastichoice.iSoiassumptionimadeiwasiadsiperceivediasist
andardiattributeiiniandionlineishoppingisite.iOthersiadsioficonsumersitakeipriorityiinitheichosenionline
i shoppingisiteisoiotheriadsitakeipriorityionceicustomersihaveitoichooseitheisiteitoishopifrom.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Christiani&iFrancei2005)

Warehouse Sales i

Forianiexistingicompany,iainewicompanyistartingiwithiaisurplusiofiproductioriaicompanyiliquidatingi
merchandiseifromiretailiindustry,ianie-
businessiwebsiteicanifunctioniasiaisalesipointiforiaiwarehouseiofiinventory.iTheiretailistores,itheiwebsi
teicaniofferioverstockediitems,igeneraliitemsisellingiatihighicapacityioriobscureiitemsidoubtfulitoisellia
tisingleiplacesta.iAnionlineistoreicanialsoiserveitoiliquidateileftoverimerchandiseiboughtiaticloseoutifr
omivariousisuppliers.

Buildingiaiwebsiteisellerishouldifocusesionitheiwarehouseisalesirelateditoiproductiandishoppingiconv
enience.iProductiperceptioniisimostiimportantifactoriamongitheistudentsiwithihighiskillsitoiuseitechno
logyitoigreatlyiinfluenceipriceiandiQuality.iiiiiiiiiiiii(Jarvenpaai&iToddi1996-97)

Iniheightiexperiencedicustomersisystemiqualityiandiserviceiqualityicriticalifactorileadingiincreasedis
ales.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(Rodgersietial.i2005).

JournaliofiEconomics,iBusinessiandiManagement,iVol.i2,iNo.i1,iFebruaryi2014

Increaseiinitheisatisfactionioficustomeritowardsistoreiasiairesultitoiincreaseiinitheileveliofiwarehouseis
ales.iAlso,ithisiportentiisiboundlessiiniknowistoreiratherithaniunknownistore.iThereiisiaistrongiconnect
ionibetweenisatisfactioniofitheicustomeriandiWarehouseisalesilevel.iItiemphasizeditheipositiveirelatio
nshipibetweenitheisatisfactionionitheibrandianditheisalesitoitheistoreiwithitheiincrease.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Binninger,i2007)

Studyiincludedi867iconsumersiofiE-
magazinesithroughiaiwebsite,iiticonfirmeditheiresultsicustomeriexperienceionitheibrandieffectingitheit
rustisatisfactionianditheiloyalty.iDependingionitheirelationshipibetweenicustomeriandibrand.iAsiwelli
asisatisfactionianditrustiareitheilevelsiofiE-sitesiwhichirefersitoitheiloyaltyiofiE-
sites.TrustiandisatisfactioniimpactipositivelyioniloyallyiofiE-
sites.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Horppuietial.,i2008)

QualityiimpactipositivelyiinitheicustomerisatisfactionianditheiSalesioniE-
sites.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(Selnes,i1993)iSatisfactionianditheiloyaltyiareitwoiimportanticonstructsieffectioniwareho
useisales.iLoyalicustomeriareinecessaryitoigrowthiandiperformanceiofitheicompany.iCompanyiconce
ntrateiandiutilizeithisistrategyiforifuture.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(VilaresiandiCoelho,i2003)

Turnkey Businessesi

TheiturnkeyiCommerceiworksiwithiaipre-
existingipatterniforiitsigivenibusiness.iBasically,iitihasisitesithatiofferianythingifromidietingipillsitoiaid
atinginetworkiforiaiparticularicity.i

Onlineishopping,ienablesicustomersitoimakeiuseiofianionlineistoreitoisearchiforiproductsiandiservices,
iorderitheiselected iproductsiandiservices,ichooseiaideliveryimethod,iindicate ianiaddressiandidate,iandi

payiforithem.iMostiofitheiproductsiandiservicesiofitheionlineistoresiareidefinedithroughitextiwithiphoto
graphsiandimultimediaifilesilikeiimg,ijpg,ipng…
manyimore.iOnireceiptiofianiorderitheionlineistoreisendsianielectroniciconfirmationitoitheicustomer.iI
nirecentiresearchidoneibyiMasterCarditheiproductsimostlyipurchasedionlineibyiSouthiAfricanishoppe
rsiareiproductsisuchiasiairitickets,itravel,iandiaccommodations.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Goldstuc
k,i2013)

Theistorefront,itheishoppingicart,itheipaymentiprocess,ianditheiorderifulfillmentiareifourimainicategor
iesiofionlineitemplatesiofishoppingisites.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii(E-marketingidictionary,i2014)

Find your competitive advantage

i i i

Thereiareinumerousielementsithaticontributeitoianie-
commerceisale.iOneiofitheimostipowerfuliapproachesitoiestablishiaibrandiisibyiidentifyingioneifactor
iwhereitheirestiofiyouricompetitionisucksiandimasteringiit.iForiinstance,iinicaseiyou'reiiniainicheiwher

eitheileadingisellersitakeiinianyieventiaicoupleidaysitoidispatch,iyouimayiinvestiiniovernightideliverin
g.iAlternatively,iifialliyourisignificanticompetitorsichargeiforitransportation,iyouicouldichooseitoioffe
rifreeishipping.
Investigate influencer marketing
i i

Wheniiticomesitoimarking,icustomeritrustiisiheavilyiinfluencedibyitheitestimonialsiandireferralsiyou
ribusinessireceives.iInfluencerimarketingiisioneiofitheibestiapproachesitoiaffectitrust.iThisistrategyii
nvolvesienlistinginicheiinfluencersi(thatiis,ionlineilifeiusersiwithiaigreatimanyifollowersiiniyouriindus
try)itoispreaditheiwordiaboutiyouriimage.i

Successiwithithisimarketingistrategyireliesionihowitargetediyouriinfluencersiare.iIt'siaismartithought
itoibeginilittleiandireachioutitoiinfluencersiwhoihaveilittleiaudiencesiofilessithani10,000—

suchiinfluencersicostilessiandihaveiaiprofoundlyitargetediaudience.iMeasureitheieffectiofisuchiaicru
sadeiandiuseitheilessonsitoideployilargeribattles.iWhileipartneringiwithilargeiinfluencersioutiandiout
imightiseemilikeiaismartithoughtitoiscaleiquick,itheseiinfluencersiappealitoimultipleidemographics ia

ndiareiinithisiwayinotiasitargeted.iTheiconversionirateifromisuchibattlesitendsitoibeilower.iTheilogica
licauseithatiinfluencerimarketingibusinessiworksiisibecauseipotentialibuyersitenditoiworkitheicredib
ilityiofitheiinfluenceriwithitheibranditheyiapprove.iThisimakesiitianiailotiquickeriapproachitoiestablis
hiaibrandipresenceithanidevelopingiyourifollowersinaturally.

Pay attention to content authority

i i i i

Aniordinaryicustomerigoesithroughiseveralistagesiofiresearchibeforeitheyilandiiniyouristoreiforiaipu
rchase.iYouristoreicouldimissionisomeirealimarkingiopportunitiesibyinotiinvestingiinicontentithatith
eiprospectiveibuyeriusesiforiresearch.iAlliiniall,iforiwhatireasoniisithisisignificant?
iInitheifirstiplace,iitihelpsiestablishiyouriimageiasianiexpertiinitheibusiness.iMostiofitheicustomersibel

ieveiiniauthorityisitesiwhichitheyireturnitoiforifutureiproductistudy.iAicomprehensiveidirectoryiofiar
ticlesimightimakeiyouriwebsiteitheiri"go-
to"isource.iItiadditionallyiprovidesiyouriimageitheichanceitoishapeireaders'ifeelingsiandinudgeithe
mitowardsiproductsiiniyouristore.iMoreover,iaicomprehensiveicontentidirectoryihelpsiyouribusines
sirankibetteriiniGoogleisearches,iwhichireinforcesiyouriimageiauthority.iOneiofitheibestiapproachesi
toidoithisiisicalleditheipair-
upistrategy.iEssentially,imarketersiareiadviseditoicreateiaicomprehensiveicontentipageithatiisimapp
editoieachiofitheiriproductipages.i

Branding and e-brandbuilding strategies

i i i
Fewiwouldidisputeitheiviewithatitheiinternetihasihadidifferingidegreesiofitransformationaliawayioni
businesses,ifromicustomaryicompaniesitoionlineinewibusinesses.iNewiopportunitiesiofiefficiencyian
dicoordinationiareiemerging,icompetitioniisiintensifyingiandibarriersitoientryiareieroding.iNewitech
nologiesiandiemergingimarketitrendsiareiconvergingitoimoveipowerifromicompaniesitoicustomers.i
Associationsiareihavingitoiredefineitheiribusinessistrategiesiwithiregarditoimarketingiandimarkingid
ueitoitheiuniqueicharacteristicsiofitheiinternetiandiitsiabilityitoioverturnitheioldirulesiofitheigame.iGe
nerally,iaibrandiisithoughtitoievoke,iini
theicustomer'sipsyche,iaicertainipersonality,ipresenceiandiproductioriserviceiperformance.i
Notwithstandingigivingiaddedivalues,iaibrandicanirepresentiaisubstituteiforidata—
airouteiforiconsumersitoiimproveitheitime-
devouringiprocessiofisearchiandicorrelationibeforeidecidingiwhatitoipurchase.iTheiadventiofitheiinte
rnetitechnology,iespeciallyiitsisuggestionsiforireal-
timeiinteractioniandimarketplaceiswarming,ihas,ihowever,imadeimarkingimoreicomplexiandidynam
ic.iNumerousionlineibusinessesiareisearchingiforinewie-
brandibuildingistrategiesithatimayihelpithemiinicreatingisomeidistinctivenessiandiengagingitheiricus
tomers.i
Previousiresearchihasiidentifiediainumberiofidifferencesibetweenionlineiandiofflineimarking.iTheseir
elateitoispeediofiexecutioni(todaysie-
markingiprojectsigetioffitheigroundiinsideisixiweeks,iwhereasicustomaryimarkingiengagementsinor
mallyirequireiaihalfiyeariinteractivityi(onlineimarkingican'tifasterithaniofflineimarkingiyetiiniadditioni
moreiinteractive);i
marketingiandisalesiconvergencei(theiinternetiisibothiaimarketingimediumiandiaisalesichannel);itheii
mportanceiofitrustiandirelationshipsi(trustiseemsievenimoreisignificantiinitheivirtualiworld,ibecausei
theipartiesitoianie-
exchangeiareinotiinitheisameiplace,iandithereforeican'tidependionithingsilikeinationalilaws,iphysicali
vicinity,ihandshakesiandibodyisigns);iandicustomerifaithfulnessichallengesi(e-
markingiextendsibeyonditheiconventionalifocalipointiofisituating,iadvertising,iadvancements,isnapp
yilogosiandimottos,itoicreatingiinternetibusinessesithaticanidelivericomplete,iandicompletelyifulfillin
g,iexperience)

SocialiMedia

Thoughipermittingiusersitoiregisteriaccountsiandicontributeitheiriowniinformationiandicontent,iaisoci
alimediaisiteicanicreateimoneyibenefitifromiadsionitheisiteiasiwelliasisellingitheimembers'iinformationi
asimarketingidata.iTheibelongingiwebsiteicanibringiaibroadiscopeioriaiveryispecificioneiwithiaicultural
,igeo,ioriinterest-
baseditheme.iShoppersidoinotihaveitoitakeitheitimeitoitravelitoiaistoreidriveithroughiheavyitrafficistandi
inilongirows.iThereiisinoineediitoilimititheirishoppingitoibusinessihoursisinceionlineishopsiareiopeni24i
hoursiaidayi7itimesiaiweekiasiCompareditoiphysicalishopping.ii(Koble,i2014)

Differentiadvantagesiofionlineishoppingithatibenefitsitoibothiconsumerianditheionlineibusinessiisithati
oficonvenience.iCustomersidoinotihaveitoigoitoiaistoreiifitheistoreioffersie-
shopping.iTheyicanisimplyimakeiuseiofiaicomputeriorimobileiphoneitoidoitheirishoppingiinitheiconven
ienceiofitheirihomeioriworkplace.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Theipercentageiofiinternetiusersishoppingionlineigrewitoi58%iini2012,icompareditoi53%iini2010iandi
44%iini2009.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiDuncani(2013)

42%iofionlineishoppersibuyionlineiatileastionceiaimonth.iResearchiindicatesithatitheicategoryiofipeopl
eiwhoiearniR20,000iperimonthihasilessionlineishoppersithanithoseiwhoiearnimore.iTheihighestipercent
ageiofionlineishoppersiearnimoreithaniR50,000iperimonthiandi38,000iincomeipeopleiareimediumionli
neipurchaser.i(Kloppers,i2013).

References

(JarvenpaaiandiToddi1996)

(Hsuehen,i2006)

(Canavanietial.i2007)

(LiniandiSun,i2009)

(Md.iAminuliIslamiet.ali2011)

(Mustafai2011)i

i (Christiani&iFrancei2005)

i (Jarvenpaai&iToddi1996-97)

(Rodgersietial.i2005).

(JournaliofiEconomics,iBusinessiandiManagement,iVol.i2,iNo.i1,iFebruaryi2014)

(Binninger,i2007)

(Horppuietial.,i2008)
(Selnes,i1993)

(VilaresiandiCoelho,i2003)

(Goldstuck,i2013)

(E-marketingidictionary,i2014)

(Koble,i2014)

Duncani(2013)

(Kloppers,i2013)